The Queen and the Soldier
by Lei-lassassin
Summary: I listened to this song by Suzanne Vega, and it made me cry, so I wrote it as a storyform oneshot. A soldier, who is sick of the battles he fights, goes to see the Queen to say he is leaving, and a strange conversation passes between them both.


**The Queen and the Soldier**

A little girl sat in her room, playing with her doll, her dark brown hair set in shining ringlets, her cheeks rosy, yet her face pale. Her green eyes sparkled as she cared for her doll, a pristine work of art, small and expensive, with fanciful clothes.

"Princess!" a voice hissed to her, and she turned to the window to see her best friend leaning on the sill.

"How did you get there?" she gasped, dropping her doll with a clunk and running over to him, helping him into her room.

"Climbed didn't I?" he said, grinning, and then wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"You're so brave, Tom!" she cooed, taking a handkerchief out of her pocket and rubbing at a smudge of dirt on his cheek.

"Aren't I just?" Tom cried, putting his hands on his hips in what he thought was a heroic way. "When I'm older, and you are Queen, I'll be your knight!"

"Or my husband!" the princess giggled, finding Tom's horrified expression amusing.

"Urgh! But we'd have to get married!"

"Yes, but then you'd be King!"

Tom thought about this for a moment, and then nodded.

"Alright, when we're older, we'll get married, and then I'll be your hero, and when you get kidnapped by evil sorcerers and witches, I'll rescue you! You know, like in the fairytales?"

The princess jumped up onto her bed and wrapped the sheets around her tightly, pulling a face of mock terror.

"Oh," she cried loudly, "help me, husband Tom! The big bad witch has cast a spell on me, and now I'm caught in a giant spider's web!"

"I'll save you!" Tom yelled gleefully, clambering up onto the bed as well, his muddy boots smearing the white linen with dirt.

"Quick! Oh quick, Tom! The spider is almost upon me!"

"Never fear, for I will slay the beast!"

The children played into the night, their laughter ringing out loudly and echoing down the empty corridors of the magnificent castle.

* * *

That night, the King died in a battle in a far away land, and a few years later the Queen committed suicide, consumed by her never ending grief, leaving her daughter all alone. The Princess became the new Queen of the land, and her advisors became her family. Tom was forgotten, a simple childhood memory, a good thing that faded away into nothing.

Yet Tom never forgot about her, and when he came of age, he joined her royal army, shining in the ranks; doing everything he could to have her recognise him again. It was all in vain, for she was caught up in her dutiful life, glancing at him only once, and even then her eyes were glazed over.

So it was that Tom fought in the many wars that the Queen waged on other Kingdoms, unnecessary conflicts that could have been resolved with civil negotiations. But she was too proud for this, and slowly, but surely, her kingdom gained more and more losses, the battlefield filled with the blood and bodies of her army, and nothing more. Finally, a lone soldier grew tired of the fighting, of the deaths of his friends and family, and so set off to see the Queen, to tell her something of great importance.

* * *

A sharp knocked sounded on the door, disturbing the Queen whilst she brushed her long, dark hair. She sighed, placed her brush down, and moved across to the door, the silks of her dress rustling as she walked. She pulled down the large brass handle, and swung open the thick, oak door, to find her butler standing waiting for her patiently.

"Your Highness," he said, his voice brisk and quiet, "a young man, a soldier, seeks an audience with you. He says what he has to tell you is of the upmost importance."

The Queen nodded, thinking the soldier wished to update her on the current war she waged against the neighbouring King.

"Tell him I shall be there in a moment, and that he should wait for me in the throne room."

The butler bowed, and then left. The Queen watched him go, and then returned to her dressing table, picking up the golden crown that was studded with priceless jewels, a headpiece her father had worn decades ago himself. She put it on, and then fixed her hair around it, so that her mahogany locks tumbled freely down to her shoulders, framing her face. She then left her room, and walked down the corridors, taking her time, before passing through the main hall and into where the soldier waited for her.

"My Lady," he said, bowing to her.

"What news do you bring?" she asked, curious.

"I bring you no news of the war, if that is what you mean."

"Well then," she cried angrily, "why is it then that you wish to speak to me? I do not like my precious time to be wasted!"

"What I want to say is... I am not fighting for you anymore."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I am not fighting for you anymore."

The Queen looked at him, and saw that the steely, determined expression on his face was familiar, although she could not recall why she thought she recognised him.

"Follow me," she said quietly, and then slowly led him out of the throne room, taking him through the castle, and letting him into her room, a place no other had been allowed into in a long time. She saw him eye the red tapestries on her wall with interest, and then she offered him a seat, before sitting down herself, straightening her crown.

"Why will you no longer fight for your Queen?" she asked him politely.

"I've watched your palace up here on the hill, whilst in battle, while my men die all around me, their lives extinguished at the stroke of a blade. Yet I've often wondered who the woman was for whom we all kill, destroying families and people in your name. But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will, continue your pointless wars... only first I am asking you why."

"Why? What is it you mean?"

The soldier laughed, and shook his head.

"I see you now, and you are so very young, completely unaware of the ways of war. Yet you have all your advisors, but I've still seen more battles lost than I have battles won. I've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun, so please will you tell me why?"

The Queen sat up, her pride wounded, and she unleashed her scathing tongue upon him, hoping to knock him back down into his place.

"You won't understand, and you may as well not try."

The soldier simply looked at her, and she felt herself give in to his unwavering gaze.

"I've swallowed a secret burning thread. All I want to be is a great a ruler as my father, but my actions cut me inside, and often I've bled."

He laid his hand then on top of her head, and he bowed her down to the ground, smiling sadly at her, his face full of pity.

"Tell me," he asked, "how hungry are you? How weak you must feel! You live here alone, and you are never revealed to the outside world... But I won't march again on your battlefield."

He took her hand, and led her to her window, a place she had not been to in an age. The curtains were drawn across, so she could not see out, but the soldier merely took hold of the material and ripped it away, and she saw the desolation of the land she ruled, the blood, the bodies, and the despair she had caused. She looked up to the sky, and saw the golden sun breaking through the grey clouds, the heavens revealed to all. It was then she wanted to be free, more than anything in the world, but the thought of it scared her, and she suddenly stepped away from the glass, her heart beating heavily against her chest.

"The last time we spoke, I was at that window, and you helped me in."

The Queen looked up at him sharply, and the memories of him flooded back, drowning her mind.

"Tom?" she whispered, her hand flying to her mouth.

"I've missed you, Princess," he replied, his face softening.

"Tom," she cried, a tear dribbling down her cheek, streaking her makeup, "you cannot go!"

The Queen found she suddenly couldn't bear to look at him, for fear her will would crumble, so she turned away from him, staring determinedly at the wall, and at the red tapestries her mother had made all those years ago.

"I cannot stay," Tom said, shaking his head. "I want to live as an honest man, not to fight and kill upon the whim of someone who commands me for her own entertainment. I want to get all I deserve, and to give all I can... and to love a young woman who I don't understand..."

Tom placed a hand on her shoulder, and turned her slowly to face him. She averted her eyes from his gaze, and because of that she did not see him suddenly lean forward to her. He kissed her, and surprised, she kissed him back, her eyes kept firmly shut. They broke apart, and Tom whispered into her ear.

"Your Highness, your ways are very strange."

But the crown, it had fallen, and the mirage had gone, and she found herself child again. Confused and upset, she thought she would break, and she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached. She was Queen! She was not supposed to act like this, to have her composure nearly ruined by a mere soldier, childhood friend be damned!

"Come with me," she said softly, and he followed her back down to hallway. She then stepped outside, and asked him to wait.

"I'll only be a moment inside," she assured him, smiling sweetly, before shutting the door and calling her butler. She gave him her instructions, and then returned to her room, stepping out onto the balcony, so that all in the courtyard could see her. There was a yell, and Tom was dragged into her view, surrounded by many armed guards. They held his arms behind his back, twisting them painfully, and Tom looked up at her, his face expressionless. The Queen could see the hurt and betrayal in his eyes however, and she stared into them for sometime, before looking at the guards that held him.

"_You're so brave, Tom!" she cooed, taking a handkerchief out of her pocket and rubbing at a smudge of dirt on his cheek._

"_Aren't I just?" Tom cried, putting his hands on his hips in what he thought was a heroic way. "When I'm older, and you are Queen, I'll be your knight!"_

"_Or my husband!" the princess giggled, finding Tom's horrified expression amusing._

"_Urgh! But we'd have to get married!"_

"_Yes, but then you'd be King!"_

_Tom thought about this for a moment, and then nodded._

"_Alright, when we're older, we'll get married, and then I'll be your hero, and when you get kidnapped by evil sorcerers and witches, I'll rescue you! You know, like in the fairytales?"_

She shook her head, her face cold and hard.

"Kill him!" she cried.

_Out in the distance her order was heard  
_

_And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word  
_

_And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred  
_

_The battle continued on._


End file.
